The Rebel and the Kingdom

''Propulsive . . . Deeply reported and novelistic. I flew through it'' Ed Caesar

''Jaw dropping even for North Korea . . . A terrific piece of up-close reportage that reads like a spy thriller but is all too real'' Anna Fifield

HOW DID A COLLEGE KID BECOME A GLOBAL FUGITIVE?

In the early 2000s, Adrian Hong was a soft-spoken Yale undergraduate looking for his place in the world. After reading a harrowing account of life inside North Korea, he realised he had found a cause to which he could devote his life.

Hong journeyed to China, outwitting Chinese security services as he helped ferry asylum-seeking North Korean escapees to safety. Meanwhile, Hong''s secret organization, Cheollima Civil Defense (later renamed Free Joseon), began tracking the North Korean government''s activities, and its volatile ruler, Kim Jong-un.

Free Joseon targeted North Korean diplomats who might be persuaded to defect, while drawing up plans for a government-in-exile.